Timothée Chalamet faces backlash from The View hosts and arts community over ballet comments

Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin criticize Timothée Chalamet on The View for dismissing ballet and opera as irrelevant

The View hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin have delivered sharp criticism of Timothée Chalamet following his recent remarks about ballet and opera.

During the March 9 episode of the ABC talk show, both women expressed disappointment in the Oscar nominee's comments.

The controversy stems from Chalamet's appearance at A CNN & Variety Town Hall Event with Matthew McConaughey. The actor suggested he didn't want movie theaters to suffer the same fate as ballet or opera, art forms where artists try to "keep this thing alive" even though "no one cares" about them anymore. He later added, "All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."

Sunny Hostin did not hold back her reaction. "Ballet is hard. I'm offended and disappointed in what he said," Hostin stated. "I didn't realize he was that vapid and that shallow."

Whoopi Goldberg, who noted she comes from a dance family, addressed Chalamet directly. "When you crap on somebody else's art form, it doesn't feel good. You probably didn't realize until you said, 'Oh, I'm in trouble,' but then you compounded it and said, '14 cents.' No, when people get mad, it'll be a lot more than 14 cents, so be careful. I'm just saying. Be careful, boy."

Goldberg clarified her phrasing, adding: "He is a boy to me. No disrespect. Really, don't apologize when you've insulted. It doesn't sound right. You can't say, 'Oh, this is dumb, no disrespect.' That's absolute disrespect."

The entertainment world has rallied around the performing arts. London's Royal Ballet and Opera responded by posting footage of its craftspeople and performers on Instagram with an open invitation for Chalamet to attend. The English National Opera also extended an invitation, while the Seattle Opera began offering 14 percent off tickets to its Carmen production using the promo code "Timothée."

Singer Doja Cat also weighed in via a since-deleted TikTok post, noting that opera and ballet have existed for 400 and 500 years respectively. She expressed confidence that opera houses remain filled with respectful audiences.

Chalamet has not publicly responded to the backlash. His upcoming film Marty Supreme is currently in production.